Clouds
by Gindokei
Summary: No matter what happened, she knew the clouds would always be there - a constant. But there had always been another constant, she had just never noticed him. A Jesse&Blair friendship oneshot with a hint of Jaden&Alexis, because I couldn't resist.


_Clouds_

**AN: Finally, I'm going to try my hand at a Jesse and Blair oneshot! Have fun with this, but please don't expect them to be in character. I really, really stink at that. And I'm not going to try and write Jesse's accent into this. Personally, I really like it, but others don't, plus I can't really _write_ accents. Sorry. (The entire episode with Darkness and Fujiwara never existed in this fic… and the transfers stayed.)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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The clouds were a pale, powder blue as they lazily drifted across the early morning sky. Blair lifted her camera, grinning gleefully as she snapped a picture of two tendrils curling together. She turned her lens to the slightly distant figure of Duel Academy, noticing the mass of clouds hovering around it. Her camera flashed again as she took the picture, surveying it in a satisfied way. A dark, imposing building, shrouded by mist. It was a beautiful image.

"I wish there were hills here…" she muttered, scrolling through the pictures she had already taken. "Misty hills. I always wanted to take a picture like that." Sighing, she turned off her digital camera, tucking it into her pocket. The harbor was not necessarily the best place to capture photographs, but it was the furthest she could find from the main building of Duel Academy.

She made her way back to the Slifer Red dorms, kicking gently at the dirt path. As she approached the ramshackle dorm, she paused, seeing the clouds almost stationary beyond the building. Curious, she bypassed the dorm, finding herself on the cliff behind the Slifer dorm.

She breathed out in awe, turning to her left and following the path cut into the side of the cliff, leading down to a small portion of land almost level with the sea. She gazed out at the horizon, the clouds slowly tumbling along.

"Have to get this…" she murmured, turning on the camera and lifting it. The clouds had obscured the horizon, and seemed to be blending into the sea. She pressed down on the button and viewed the result happily.

"I think that's enough, for now," she told herself, turning it off again. Still clasping the camera, she looked around, remembering the history the place held for her.

'This is where I first dueled Jaden…' she thought wistfully. 'So much has changed since then.'

She blinked fiercely, not willing to let the tears rising in her eyes spill over. "So what if he has Alexis?" she muttered. "I'm over him, anyways. He was never anything more than a crush. It's not a big deal."

It hurt her to speak such lies, especially to herself, but she needed to hear the words out loud. Jaden was out of her grasp forever, now. She should have known from day one that he and Alexis had something. And now she was left alone.

Because the words she had spoken were utterly untrue. Jaden _hadn't_ just been a crush – that had been Zane, and even Chazz to an extent. But Jaden had been the first person she had ever loved. It hadn't seemed that way to anyone, because she always behaved like a silly, love struck girl. But obsessively was the only way Blair knew how to love.

And now the third years would be graduating in fifteen days' time. She remembered the tag duel tournament Hassleberry and herself had set up with a laugh. What a fool she had been! What a silly, hopeful fool, to think that Jaden had ever cared for her.

"At least… the clouds never change. They're always there – they might change shape, or grow gray, but they're always _there_. It's nice to have at least one constant," she spoke aloud.

"So… _this_ is where you sneak off to every morning," a new voice came from behind her. Blair turned sharply, her indigo hair almost smacking the newcomer in the face.

"Whoa!" The aquamarine-haired youth raised his hands to cover his face in defence. "Easy there! Call your hair off!" He was grinning, his light green eyes alight. Blair crossed her arms, scowling.

"Jesse Anderson. What are you doing here?" she demanded, pulling her Slifer blazer closer to her body as a stray gust of wind whipped by her. She noticed suddenly that she was still holding her camera.

"I didn't know Duel Academy allowed cameras…" he mused out loud, still grinning. She flushed, hurriedly pocketing it.

"They, uh, don't. Except for special occasions."

"Blair Flannigan, breaking rules?" He feigned shock. She glared at him and refrained from slapping him.

"That's not funny, Anderson. For your information," she floundered a bit as she tried to think of an excuse, "I have this camera to take pictures of the graduating class. Chancellor Sheppard and Dr. Crowler entrusted me with the important task."

He raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Didn't you do that a couple of weeks ago?" he remarked. Her brown eyes widened.

"Oh… oh yeah," she muttered, remembering the incident when she had taken a picture with Jaden. She still had that photo stored somewhere in her clothes drawer.

"So, spill. What are you really doing at six in the morning on a Sunday, with a camera?" Jesse folded his arms and waited for her answer.

"None of your business," she snapped. He shrugged.

"I'm not really a tattletale by nature, so I won't tell anyone about you having a camera when you shouldn't… I was just curious. After all, you never seemed like a morning person… and yet you're gone every Sunday morning."

She blinked. "You _check_?" She sounded flabbergasted.

"Nah. Chazz told me. He's a pretty light sleeper."

Blair turned red again. And she had always been so sure that she snuck out silently!

"So. If you want to tell me, you can. If you don't…" He shrugged again. "Not a big deal, I suppose."

She instantly decided not to tell him. "Forget it," she replied, brushing past him and making for the path once more. "I'm going back to my dorm."

"To do what, sleep?" He scoffed, reaching out to gently grab her wrist. She stopped at the contact, glaring poisonously at him and wrenching her hand away.

"Don't touch me," she hissed. "For your information, I'm going back to my dorm to put this camera away and enjoy what alone time I have left."

He pulled his hand away, laughing softly. "Okay, okay. Go have your alone time, then."

Blair huffed and began to climb up the path. Jesse stayed where he was, staring out across the sea. She paused, suddenly feeling guilty about leaving him alone. The next second, she felt stupid. If he wanted to stay here, she had no business trying to convince him to go back as well.

Still, she called out, "You're not heading back?" Jesse turned slightly, so she could see only one green eyes gleaming at her.

"Nah. Figured I may as well stay here… not much to do in the room except listen to Jaden snore." He chuckled faintly, and Blair felt weariness and anger flow through her veins. She turned her back on him and continued to march up the path.

She heard light footsteps behind her and soon heard Jesse's voice again. "So that's why you won't talk to me," he said quietly. "Because I'm Jaden's friend. Is that it?"

She refused to face him. "Don't be ridiculous," she scoffed. "I'm so over him. He can do whatever he wants to, I don't care who his girlfriend is." Her voice broke in the middle, making the speech less powerful and more pitiful.

"Some things aren't meant to be, Blair. Don't blame him," he murmured. "Jaden does like you as a friend, but you were never going to be more than that."

"I don't need someone else telling me that I was stupid to believe he might actually like me, okay?" she choked. "I don't need anyone else to put me down."

"No one's trying to put you down. If anything, we're trying to bring you up." She could almost hear him smiling at his lame joke.

"That was idiotic," she informed him. He laughed.

"I know. I couldn't come up with anything better."

She finally turned, but avoided looking into his eyes. "What do you want from me?" she asked, irritation creating an edge in her tone. She felt Jesse's gaze on her.

"I want to see the pictures you took," he said softly. Blair angrily whipped out her camera, thrusting it at him.

"Take it, and leave me alone." With that, she spun and almost ran back to the room she shared with Chazz. Remembering Jesse's words about him being a light sleeper, she repressed the tears and curled up on the bed, staring stonily ahead.

* * *

Next Sunday, she got up early as always, humming softly. The week had been a good one. The teachers hadn't handed out too much homework, because they were too preoccupied with being tearful about the third years' fast-approaching departure. She moved towards her dresser, rummaging through her shirts to find her camera, before suddenly remembering how she had given it to Jesse last week. Anger at herself replaced her previous blissful feeling.

"Why on earth did you have to give it to him like that?" she scolded herself softly, knowing that Chazz was probably already awake and listening to her. "You should have just kept it. Now what are you going to do?"

Despite her lack of camera, she decided to go the cliff behind the Slifer dorm, just to see the view. However, once she had reached her location, she was tempted to venture downwards, to the small portion of land by the sea.

To her intense surprise, there was already someone there. Jesse Anderson turned as she got off the path, something silver flashing in his hand.

"I thought you'd come here," he said quietly. "This is yours. I'm sorry I didn't return it sooner." He offered her the camera, and she took it hesitantly.

"T…thanks," she muttered, tucking it away in her pocket. A rush of relief filled her to feel the familiar weight of the camera in her pocket. He acknowledged her thanks with a nod.

"I should thank you. Those pictures… they're beautiful." A teasing tone returned to his voice as he added, "Who knew that Blair Flannigan was a closet photographer?"

She flushed. "I'm not a photographer, I just like taking pictures of clouds," she retorted, folding her arms. He laughed, turning back to the sea.

"Sure, if you say so."

Tentatively, Blair stepped next to him. They stood in silence for a few minutes, both gazing out at the sea.

"What do you see?" he asked her after a while, his eyes still fixed on the horizon. Puzzled at his words, she contemplated her answer for a moment.

"I see clouds," she replied softly.

The side of his face that was visible to her lifted in a smile. "I thought so," he said quietly. "They're all you see, aren't they? They're your escape. They're your disguise."

She was too angry at his assumption to reply. But after a few moments, she finally burst out, "My _disguise_? What on earth are you talking about? There doesn't have to be some ulterior motive for me to love the clouds."

"There doesn't have to be, but there is, isn't there?" Jesse replied softly. "I just got it wrong is all."

She scowled at him. "Yeah, you sure did. I love the clouds for what they are, but they're also a constant in my life. That's all," she emphasized. "They're not some sort of _veil_ for me to shroud myself from reality." Her tone was scornful.

"I never said they were," he smiled.

"What do _you_ see, then?" she pressed.

"I see… I see my friends. The Crystal Beasts," he replied quietly. Her forehead furrowed in confusion.

"Your friends? But… but aren't they just cards?"

He turned to her, his face peaceful. "No, of course not. They're my friends – no, my family. I love them dearly."

She still looked bewildered. Jesse gently took her by the shoulders and moved her slightly.

"See that cloud, over there?" he pointed. "That's Cobalt Eagle, plain as day."

And to her amazement, she could see a brown bird in the cloud, its wings outstretched. It had a reddish-orange mane and dark blue stones embedded in its wings and its chest.

"Wow…" she breathed, staring at the image. "It's… he's gorgeous."

"And there," Jesse moved her again, "there's my old pal Ruby. See her?"

The small blue cat seemed to wink at her from the cloud, its brilliant red eyes glowing. Blair inhaled in awe.

"Oh my goodness… they're…" She couldn't finish her sentence. "They're real. They're beautiful."

Jesse rested his chin on her shoulder, and she jumped slightly at his action.

"Oops, sorry," he laughed, removing his hands from her shoulders and lifting his head. "Got a little carried away there. But if you look really hard, you can see all of them." He tilted his head back, his eyes following the sinuous curve of one cloud. "And that's him. Rainbow Dragon," he said softly.

Blair watched him quietly, and was surprised to see the tenderness in his face, and the vulnerability as well. She reached out a hand, gently touching his arm.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for showing them to me."

He faced her, and for a moment, she glimpsed the little four-eared cat with scarlet eyes on his shoulder.

"You're welcome," he murmured. Blair looked up at him, her heart thumping uncomfortably. Was it possible that she was falling for _Jesse_, Jaden's best friend, only days after her heart had broken over the Slifer Red?

"Can you… can you show me all of them?" she murmured. His green eyes flashed, and he took her hand, pointing with the other.

"Look over there… that's Amethyst Cat, right there…"

Maybe it was something, or maybe it was nothing at all, Blair thought. But whatever it was, she wanted the world to stop so that she and Jesse could just watch the clouds forever.

* * *

**AN: … eek. I'm not sure how this is. I haven't seen a lot of Jesse x Blair fanfics, so I thought I'd try my hand at one. Was it okay? Blair seemed to have gotten over Jaden very quickly… sorry about that. And like I mentioned, both of them are probably extremely out of character.**


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